


a big deal

by maketea



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, supportive friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:08:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29011815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maketea/pseuds/maketea
Summary: adrien doesn't think a fencing tournament is a big deal. his friends remind him it is.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 20
Kudos: 240





	a big deal

"Does anyone have any water?" 

"Oh, I do," Adrien said. He pointed at his bag with the end of his pen. "It's in there. Help yourself."

Marinette leaned over and rummaged through it. 

He used the pen to push her lank fringe from her face. She didn't even glance up, let alone roll her eyes. In fact, all she did was mutter a quiet  _ thanks _ . He could only guess how exhausted she was. 

Well, it wasn't like anyone else was faring much better. He had watched Alya take a five minute nap on Nino's shoulder, who had searched for his calculator a total of three times in the past two hours with it being clutched in his hand all along. 

"What's the quadratic formula again?" Alya asked.

Nino sighed, flicking back in his workbook. "Babe, you should really know that by now. The exam is tomorrow." 

"Listen, I've accepted I'm gonna fail. I just want to win the bet."

Ah yes, the bet. Adrien peered over at Marinette's workbook, then over at Alya and Nino's. They had decided, at the beginning of their revision session, that whoever finished the most maths problems at the end of the two hours would have their next ice cream from André's be paid by the other three. By the looks of it, he was in the lead, up to forty-five questions. It had been incentive enough, at the beginning, but with the library's broken AC and the blast of summer pressed up against the windows, none of them even wanted ice cream anymore. They just wanted to go home.

"Whoa, what's this for?" Marinette asked, more awake than she had been since their lunch break.

"What's— oh." 

Marinette had his medal cupped in her hands. She twined the red first-place ribbon around her fingers, inspecting it.

"Is this real gold?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Uh… I think so."

At this, Alya and Nino leaned over their notebooks to see, pens dangling out of their grips.

"Wow." Marinette held it up to the stream of sunlight coming from one of the windows. "Where'd you get it?"

"Oh, it was just a fencing tournament."

Marinette blinked. She looked from the medal, to him, to the medal again. She picked off a piece of lint from the scarlet ribbon.

"A tournament," she repeated.

"Yeah."

"And this is gold."

"Yeah."

"...first place?"

Adrien flushed. He turned back to his maths equations. "Yeah."

Her volume crescendoed, in a way that would certainly have gotten them kicked out if the librarian wasn't busy taking a cat nap at her desk. 

"Adrien!" Marinette cried. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I don't know. It's not that big of a deal."

"Dude." Nino reached over and took hold of the ribbon, testing the material. "A tournament  _ is _ a big deal."

"Why didn't you invite us?" Alya asked. "We could've cheered you on!"

He stared, taken aback. "You'd… you'd have wanted to come?"

"Adrien!" Marinette flailed her hands. "Of course?!"

"But… they're long and boring."

"But it's  _ you _ ." She placed her hand over his and squeezed. "We'd cheer you on no matter what."

His heart swelled, and Adrien squeezed her hand back. 

"Plus," she said, some attempt at a purr appearing in her voice, "there's  _ nothing _ boring about seeing you in your fencing kit."

She was bright red as she said it. Adrien couldn't hold back his grin.

"Alright, first of all," Alya said, "gross. Second of all, even if Nino and I don't thirst after you in your fencing kit—" (Marinette spluttered) "—we'd still have loved to watch. Why would you think it's not that big of a deal?"

"And why didn't you tell us you won  _ gold _ ?" Nino asked. 

"Yeah." Marinette turned to him. "That, if nothing else, is a  _ huge _ deal."

"Well… I mean…" He floundered. "There'll be more, anyway. It's not that important. That's why Nathalie and Father just stay at the mansion during my tournaments."

A silence settled between them, and Marinette exchanged a look with Alya and Nino. 

Adrien picked up his pen and made a start on question forty-six.

"Adrien," Alya said. "Somebody is lying to you."

" _ Alya," _ Marinette hissed. 

"He thinks tournaments aren't  _ important _ ."

"That doesn't mean you have to be harsh!"

"Dudes, Adrien's right there. You don't need to talk like he isn't."

The girls stopped bickering and looked at Nino. Then, they turned back to Adrien.

Marinette's hand returned to his. "Adrien, just because something will happen again doesn't mean it's any less important. Your achievements  _ are  _ important."

"She's right," Alya added. "Like, we always celebrate it whenever the Ladyblog hits another hundred-thousand followers. It'll happen again, but we still go out for orange juice together."

"Yeah," Nino said. "Or whenever one of my tracks gets its first hundred streams."

"Or whenever I sell out one of my designs." Marinette rubbed his knuckles. "Every single one of your accomplishments are important. Not just for you, but for us, too."

Adrien glanced at the medal on the desk. He fiddled with the red first-place ribbon. 

"Really?" he said quietly.

Marinette smiled. "Really."

"Okay, before you guys kiss, or something — hi, we're still here," Alya said, watching them warily. Marinette retracted her hand and leaned back against her chair, which Alya acknowledged, amused. "Adrien, we'd better be hearing about any future tournaments you're in."

"Hey, Marinette," Nino said, "you'd be good at letting us know."

"Me?" she asked. "Sure, if Adrien tells me."

Adrien reached under the table and cupped her knee fondly.

"Oh, sure, but didn't you used to have a calendar—"

He cut off with a yelp. Alya had nudged him in the side. 

"I  _ think, _ " she said, sending Nino a sharp look, "Adrien will be fine with letting us know himself next time he has a tournament."

Marinette turned to look at him — flushed, but with smiling eyes. "You will, won't you?"

Warmth spread through his chest. "Yeah," he said. "I will."

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: rosekasa


End file.
